Lions offered Cardinals three picks to get Peterson

By Arizona Sports | May 4, 2011 at 3:50 pmUPDATED: May 4, 2011 at 5:27 pm

The Detroit Lions coveted LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson. So much so that they offered the Arizona Cardinals a large portion of their draft to move up and select him.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Lions made the Cardinals a draft day offer they apparently could refuse.

According to a person familiar with the talks, the Lions offered the Arizona Cardinals first-, second- and fourth-round choices for the Cardinals’ pick, No. 5 overall.

Those picks would have been the 13th, 44th and 107th overall. Quite the haul to move up a mere six selections.

If Peterson turns out to be the defensive back everyone expects the decision will look like the right one. If he fails to reach his potential — think Tommy Knight — while others drafted at or after that 13th selection prosper, then fans will question the decision for years to come.

Right now there is no arguing that Peterson was the correct choice. There was a consensus among the ‘experts’ that he was the closest to a ‘sure thing’ in this year’s draft. Regardless of what happens moving forward, the Cardinals made the right move by turning down the Lions offer.